A researcher at The Cube demonstrates how a conventional cigarette produces smoke and how a smoke-free product produces aerosol./Jintana Panyaarvudh

Cigarette giant philip morris is focusing on research to come up with less-harmful products but concerns remain about their effectiveness

Inside "The Cube" – an all-glass square building sitting on the edge of Lake Neuchatel in Switzerland – more than 400 scientists and researchers are busy conducting studies to develop alternative and less harmful products to create a smoke-free future.

Andre Calantzopoulos, CEO of Philip Morris International, announced this mission in what was deemed a “revolution” in the tobacco industry in 2016 – calling on smokers to switch to smoke-free alternatives as soon as possible.

He said his company’s ambition was to replace cigarettes with less-harmful alternatives to help create a smoke-free society. Maybe, he said, one day Philip Morris will even stop producing tobacco products.